[image: View Post]HispanicSlammer, on 26 January 2010 - 02:50 AM, said:
I used a razor blade on the green gasket the first time and the darned thing was so baked on I had to really get aggressive to get that stuff off. I may have nicked the metal and now I got an oil leak - all I know is its freaking leaking oil from the stator cover. I re-torqued the bolts to spec and still it leaks. Gonna have to remove it and replace the gasket. I don't want to go thru another 45 minute job of getting all the old green gasket off. I mean it was like it was painted on! The old one just disintegrated as soon as I put the razor to it. PITA! I have been meaning to inspect my stator anyway to see what shape its in. I can always sit the cover on a pane of glass and some fine sand paper and sand it smooth again if its nicked, just tape the sand paper to the glass and move the cover around, but the engine side that I don't know?
I have used that method on the valves of my dirt-bike forks, found some dirt in the valve and it got between the valve face and the shim stack and pitted it up - sanded it smooth, smooth and strait planed flat, and then replaced the shims. If I nicked the engine face well I don't know, I cant just sand part of it, I cant even see where the oil is leaking from its a really small leak. Just that its the stator cover. Maybe cut a new gasket from cork or some thicker gasket material?
My experience with oil leaks is based on numerous engine strips of old Triumph motors, so I know whereof I speak. These engines are notorious for letting the oil out unintentionally, sometimes the fault of the the bike, sometimes the fault of the wrencher. Nicked aluminum gasket surfaces, generally the result of aggressive(read difficult), gasket removal tend to occur commonly. The glass plate method of flattening a surface works well for any part that can be removed from the engine BUT, if you sand any surface that is not, or can't be, disassembled from the motor you WILL introduce contaminants into the engine in the form of abrasives and metal filings.
Not Good!
So, use the gasket remover, let it soak in, and scrape gently. While the gasket remover doesn't always soften up the most hardened of gaskets, it will help considerably with most of what you need to do and so minimise the likelihood of chipping a gasket surface. There are a couple of gasket sealers that will adequately fill the generally tiny nicks that result from removing gaskets with a razor blade. I prefer good old Yamabond #4 over the silicone types of gasket sealants. When Ymabond dries it lays flat on the inner engine surface and tends to be brittle. This
helps to prevent pieces that come away when the motor is running from potentially blocking oilways. The silicone sealants can, and will, come away and form little balls that will bounce around inside the engine until they get sucked into an oil passage, thus starving whatever is on the other side from oil. The silicone types, because they are
very flexible and resiliant, will withstand crushing by gears, valves and what have you. If you have a very uneven surface to deal with a product called The Right Stuff works well, but you have to be carefull with it, as it too can peel off inside the motor. The Right Stuff is a better alternative for low pressure environments and badly nicked or uneven surfaces. As always preparation is key. THOROUGHLY clean any gasket surface with solvent and allow it to dry before applying the sealant. If you MUST sand or file a surface in situ then a ltttle grease under the file or sandpaper will help trap much of the wayward filings, and can be wiped away after you're done. Also, there are folks that will manufacture custom silicone gasgests for you, but this tends to be expensive.
HTH.